SUMMARY
The laboratory of Gloria B. Kim, Ph.D., develops next‑generation, cell‑based immunotherapies and immunoengineering technologies at the intersection of immunology, biomaterials and biomedical engineering. The lab focuses on genetically and chemically reprogramming immune cells to treat autoimmune diseases, tissue injury and conditions driven by immune dysregulation, such as cancer.
Cellular immunotherapy has transformed treatment for hematologic cancers, demonstrated by the success of several Food and Drug Administration‑approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies. Dr. Kim's research builds on these advances to address unmet needs in solid tumors, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders — areas in which hostile microenvironments, limited tissue specificity and safety concerns remain major barriers to effective treatment.
A central mission of Dr. Kim's work is to engineer immune cells — both ex vivo and in vivo — with enhanced targeting, functional control and therapeutic durability. By integrating synthetic receptors, biomaterial-based delivery systems and immune-regulatory circuits, the lab aims to create programmable immune therapies that restore immune balance and promote tissue repair.
Focus areas
- CAR-T and CAR-Treg therapies. Dr. Kim's lab designs CAR‑T cells for solid tumors — including kidney cancer, glioblastoma, prostate cancer and breast cancer — and CAR‑Tregs for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The team focuses on improving tissue‑specific trafficking, functional stability and long‑term immune regulation to enhance the safety and effectiveness of these therapies.
- Cell engineering and in vivo immune reprogramming. Dr. Kim's lab develops ex vivo-engineered and in vivo-programmed immune cells using viral and nonviral delivery platforms, including mRNA-based systems, to enable scalable and tissue-targeted immunotherapies.
- Immunoengineering for hostile microenvironments. Dr. Kim's team creates immune cells capable of maintaining function within immunosuppressive or inflammatory microenvironments, such as solid tumors and chronically inflamed tissues.
- Biomaterial-enabled immune modulation. Dr. Kim's lab applies citric acid-based and other biomaterial platforms to enhance immune cell manufacturing, persistence and controlled delivery of therapeutic payloads.
- Immune cells as living therapeutic vehicles. Dr. Kim's team has pioneered the use of engineered human immune cells as living carriers for nanoparticle-based therapeutics, imaging agents and immune modulators in oncology and immune-mediated diseases.
Significance to patient care
Cellular immunotherapy is becoming an important treatment option for cancer. The research of Dr. Kim and her team helps create new therapies that may directly benefit patients in the future. Their work focuses on understanding how immune cells function in both healthy and diseased conditions. By developing new technologies that help immune‑based treatments work better and last longer, Dr. Kim's lab aims to improve the quality of care patients receive at Mayo Clinic.
Professional highlights
- Principal investigator, Collaborative Research Seed Grant, Arizona State University, Mayo Clinic, 2023.
- Brody Family Medical Trust Fund Fellowship, Philadelphia Foundation, 2020-2022.
- Future of Science Fund Scholarship, Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2020.
- Rising Star in Engineering in Health, Columbia University, 2020.
- T32 Institutional Training Grant, National Institutes of Health, 2018-2020.
- Pennsylvania State University:
- Cancer Institute Research Award, Penn State Cancer Institute, 2017.
- Leighton H. and Kimberley A. Reiss Graduate Fellowship, 2012.
- Jaisohn Memorial Foundation Scholarship, Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation, 2016.
- KASBP Fellowship, Korean American Society in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals, 2015.
- KSEA-KUSCO Graduate Scholarship, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association, Korean-US Science Cooperation Center, 2015.
- Graduate Research Fellowship, NASA Space Grant Consortium, 2013-2015.
- International Biomedical Engineering Innovation and Career Development Travel Award, Biomedical Engineering Society, 2013.
- KASF Scholarship, Korean American Scholarship Foundation, 2013.
- Silver Encore Award, Phase 3 Guselkumab Scale-Up Run, Johnson & Johnson, 2010.